Europa Universalis IV

Very good game, gave me an interest in history and has incredible replayability - it's also a massive time sink, costs a ton of money to play with all the features, and has very steep learning curve to do anything cool. Not recommended if you are employed, or want to develop a life. Very recommended otherwise.

In my opinion, this is the king of map staring games. I now struggle to remember a time in which I did not eagerly allow this game to burn itself into my retinas. My religion, my career, my fundamental sense of self, all of them came and went while my addiction to this game remained. Is the game perfect? No. Is the game simple to learn? I hardly remember. The curious child who found this game is lost to the sands of time. If I so much as see the number 1444 I begin to think of hours of scrolling through menus with a fondness that can only be described as Stockholm Syndrome... ah... Stockholm... perhaps I should do a Sweden run... Play at your own risk. You'll either grow tired of the concept soon and rid yourself of it, or you will join the rest of us. Or you could develop a healthy relationship with it, I'm not telling you how to live your life.

5k hours course I like the game. Get's bit tedious late game and slows down with all the units and scale of the game. Good grand strat game and taught me so many random facts about 1444 - 1820

This game kills. But only for a very specific kind of person. The kind of person who read their social studies books ahead several chapters in school, or the kind of person who daydreamed while staring at maps and pretending to conquer medieval Europe. This game has a HUGE learning curve but it's worth playing if you can figure it out. I United Japan and felt like the hands on face meme. What a game!

EU IV allows you to carve out a nation of your choice between the years of our Lord 1444 and 1800-something. It takes about 70 hours to really understand most of the options at your disposal. With the right strategy, you can achieve success as anything, be it as a small trading republic, a steppe horde, a massive empire and so on. Set some goals beforehand or roleplay a bit for even more fun. Try out Ironman Mode and learn to lose too. But always remember, both in-game and in reality, the true enemy is the Swede. Virtual Sven will stab you in the back the moment you turn your strong, muscular catholic back to him, whilst the flesh and blood Horror of the North will rob you blind with his ever worsening DLC policy. I bought the game and all DLC at a massive 85% discount and I suggest you do the same if you want the full experience.

Game has way too much dlc. Not paying a fuckin subscription just for a complete and functional experience.

Great game. Eu4 is a mix of everything, from trade to warfare to diplomacy. My main problem is how tedious the late game gets.

My most played game on Steam, and for good reason. EU4 is complex, satisfying, and dangerously time-consuming.

Best game ever made, EU5 better realize that and step it up. I like the fact that it is very involved and makes you think - is never the same scenario even if you play the same country again and again. I dislike nothing, other than the fact world conquest got way harder when they made the change that resulted in the AI building much larger forts, but then again that is more realistic. Luckily I already got the achievement, but one religion will likely never happen for me.

Fantastic game! Great way to immerse yourself if you're a history enjoyer like myself. Limitless replayability due to the amount of nations in the game (each with specific mechanics and playstyles), the differing outcome of each playthrough and the absolute abundance of glorious mods. Want to larp as a mighty military powerhouse with unstoppable armies of space marines? Check. Want to colonise the entire uncivilized world to increase the reaches of your prestigious domain? Check. Want to make many much monies as an economic hegemon? Check. Want to strike fear in the hearts of all unsuspecting peoples with hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry willing to die to expand your borders as a scourge of god horde? Check. Want to seduce all the royal ladies of your potential enemies by showcasing your massive chin thus spreading your dynasty through marriage mechanics and having world powers fall under your reign via personal unions? Check. WANT TO CONQUER THE ENTIRE WORLD? CHECK.

Perfect game for history immersion, but it is very time-consuming

This is a very good game, it works well with multiplayer, it is very entertaining as it covers several time periods so has a large appeal, would recommend playing as it lets you play as almost every country and lets you have a challenging but rewarding run through multiple time periods.

This game has stolen every thing I love and hold dear... would I do it again.....yeah probably

Great historical grand strategy game. Fairly easy to learn the basics but you will still be learning tricks after hundreds of hours of play as well. Excellent mod support.

Pretty much the penultimate rts game. The diplomacy is excellent, the economy is decent, though not as good as victoria, and the military system is phenomenal as well.

Highly enjoyable. Many hours of fun to be had. Very complicated, so maybe not for someone who wants to just load up for the first time and understand everything strait away, but I find fun in working out everything as I go along. I do have a bit of lag at times, but when I first loaded it, it told me I didn't have enough memory for it, but its definitely manageable as long as I don't have other windows open. With being able to play any country allows infinite possibilities. Having to buy the DLCs separately is a pain though, couldn't Paradox just integrate them into the base game and charge more? Still great though.

Awesome game. Many-many hours can be sunken in to make something stupid or horrendous (like Latin Empire). btw RIP Byzantine forever beloved.

DO NOT SUPPORT PARADOX. They've continuously shown in the recent years how little they care for talent and innovation and prioritize predatory models that aim to squeeze money out of people over the course of years, just so they can play a complete game they already paid $60 or more for. EU IV is no different from any other title they've released.

This game should replace the RAADS test for Autism, if you get over 1000 hours, you're as good as diagnosed.

so with EU5 on the horizon slowly mechanics are falling apart and the ai is starting to become broken to the point the game is unplayable now. F*** this company dont spend a dime. HOI 4 is next.

I wasn't sure after the first thousand hours. Then I played for another 1,200 hours to be sure. I'm still not sure but I'll say yes because it's fun to colonise the new world as Sweden.

This game teach you basic of kingdom in midle age. I got the basic idea of middle age kingdom and that is very different with country right now. I prefer the game if you want to understand politic in middle ages.

This game's kickass! If you like deep strategy with lots of replayability then this one will probably do it for you.

While I would caution anyone against buying into the scam of dozens of $20+ DLC, especially with a sequel scheduled for release, this game is insanely fun even when you aren't particularly good at it. Lots of fond memories and the soundtrack plays in my head from time to time.

Pretty fun game. Can restore the mongol empire for the 2nd time in history. Yet you need a lot of RNG, (for exemple Moghulistan alliyng Uzbeks and Khazah as you plays Oirat) Besides that, you can do a lot of stupid things, like an Greek, Orthodox Ottomans.

Cool setting but wars are genuinely unbearable, so tedious and leads to chasing their army back and forth half the time. Battles feel very unrewarding as well. Go play march of the Eagles instead, way better fr

Best grand strategy game available. Mix of total war campaign map and political/economic depth that other games offer. The perfect blend.

I only play for the full conversion mod Anbennar. Best fantasy & grand strategy game.

Overall, a great game. Insane I paid so much for all the DLCs in the end. Wish a few mechanics were a bit different and more historical but still love the game

Hi UwU I just got finished diplomatically subjugating all of europe as austria def will recomend :3

This game has been one of my favourite's since I was a teenager. It scratches an itch not many other games can. You control a country in the 15th century. You attack and conquer other countries. You colonise the world. All the while you have to manage your economy, trade, diplomacy and domestic affairs. I never liked the lack of historicity in the Civ series so this was perfect to me. In fact, it TAUGHT me history and it's the reason why I like history at all. This game taught me more about history than high school. It's got a steep learning curve, like other Paradox games. It took so long for it to 'click' for me, because there are so many things you have to understand and juggle. It was very satisfying once it did though and it becomes a fun focus-drain game for you to play while listening to a podcast or youtube video. The game has problems. Its DLC policy is awful. A lot of vital functions and great content are locked behind DLC paywalls. Fortunately in recent years a subscription service has been created, allowing you to gain access to them all for a monthly fee. The DLC policy has been a catch-22 for the game, because each DLC has been accompanied by a content update, so the game has continuously been improved. The modding scene is GREAT. Ante Bellum, Anbennar, etc, change the entire world in-game and allow you to play as new nations. Ante Bellum is a stunning alt-history scenario whilst Anbennar is stereotypical dwarves-and-elves DnD with insanely layered worldbuilding and new gameplay mechanics. I recommend it hard, but be ready to deal with the DLC policy and learn a lot.

This is an Excellent game made by Paradox. I love this game so very much. I Believe that this is the best PDX game ever made and is why you should spend 300 dollars on the game and it's DLC's right before EU5 comes out.

Amazing game full of wonderful possabilities ect though the dlc is expencive to obtain all of it

Small, easy to learn game, fun to play from time to time. Will not consume your soul.

One of the best games I have ever played. Near infinite replayability. Incredible depth and knowledge/skill expression. Can play a casual game as Austria protecting the empire, to a nail-biting survival struggle as Ardabil, sandwiched between multiple great warmongering powers. I recommend starting without DLCs, and purchasing/enabling different ones as you encounter those mechanics as you learn the game. One downside is the need to use the wiki sometimes, but that is more restricted to high-stakes or very in-depth strategies.

This is easily one of the most obsessive games that I have ever played in my life, as it reigns as one above all in my most-played and valued game.

Great game, you need about 100 hours to learn to play it (+ YT videos) but it gets really fun

I've been struggling to find the first-person shooter part of the game.

Really good game but make sure to pay a lot of attention to diplomacy - it is really important in this game. I made the mistake of neglecting it thinking ai allies wouldn't be much use to me. (Like they can be in other paradox games sometimes) But in this game the AI can definitely be good allies... sometimes.

The Pit is Eternal! While my body is free my mind remains trapped. Do not sell your soul to Paradox even if it's 70% off!

Tread carefully, I came in this game expect a few replays and a few reruns. But here we are 4k hours in and I still play this game. Addiction is bad but i love map painting excel simulators.

Imagine if you mated Sim City and Risk together, then dosed them on steroids and meth. It is THE grand strategy game. It cratered my productivity as an artist, and I'd argue it's been worth the fun. It is perhaps the greatest blessing and curse ever visited upon my life, and I can't wait to play EU5.

Good game, learning curve is hard and agressive expansion will kill you at first but offer infinite hours of content

This game perfectly scratches the part of my brain that enjoys watching colors change on a map.

This game is a broken, incomplete mess, there is so much mechanics bloat, to many DLCs, the AI are absolute troglodytes, but it is probably the best grand strategy game PDX has ever made, 10/10

A great game, dizzying varity of DLCs, not all of them are necessary. So many DLCs were added over the last decade, that the menu system couldn't hold them all. You'll be given systems out of the blue and most are manageable.

Great game but all these DLCs cost a fortune just crack if you can or check what is necessary for your play style and purchase i went with the latter

after playing like 200hours i still like a noob while manage the country . Its complex and extremely hard for me to play iron mode without turing on consle . Defintely good game ,once i open eu4 ,just like time fly, not every player will like this type of game which full of stategy .The system of economic tough.. still got a lot history knowledge from game

Steep learning curve, but once you got a hang of it you can't stop playing. It has layers and layers and layers of mechanics and features and I'm constantly looking stuff up online but it has been a very fun experience so far. I've been playing with the DLC subscription.

- start as nation in position more favourable than neighbours - attack one of them, succeeding in the start of war - go in debt for mercenaries - win the war - lose the economy for shit-province X and shit-province Y - never fully recover - waste monarch points in wrong directions and go late on tech - collapse and get reduce to a one province minor or slightly bigger rump state - quit game - restart and repeat 10/10 gameplay experience, can't wait for EU5 so I can lose in HD and a massive map